Score some free Hearthstone card packs as part of the HCT Winter Championship

'Choose your champion' and you'll get a free pack. Choose wisely, and you'll earn several more.

The HCT Winter Championship gets underway next week with 16 top Hearthstone players from around the world competing for a spot in the upcoming World Championship. As in previous years, Hearthstone fans can choose one of the contestants as their champion, and score some free card packs in the process.

Everyone who chooses a champ will get a free card pack from the Rastakhan's Rumble expansion, easy peasy. But that's just the beginning, because the deeper your warrior makes it into the tournament, the more card packs you get: One pack for making it to the quarterfinals, another for the semis, and one more for making it all the way to the final match.

Here are your fighters!

Bunnyhoppor (Germany)

LFcaimiao (China)

bobbyex (Canada)

bloodyface (US)

Definition (South Korea)

Roger (Taiwan)

SNJing (China)

LFYueying (China)

Tyler (Vietnam)

Viper (Germany)

GoeLionKing (China)

noblord (US)

ThunderUP (Turkey)

Tansoku (Japan)

Faeli (Czech Republic)

Ike (US)

Be aware that there are no do-overs once you've logged in and confirmed your champ, so choose wisely. I put all my marbles on noblord, because he's the only one in the bunch who looks like he's actually having fun. If you're in the market for a more useful recommendation, our resident Hearthstone head Tim thinks Bunnyhoppor is a strong choice, even though he picked Ike in tribute to our recent profile of a player who's had to overcome incredible pain to compete.

Believe it or not, these guys are playing the same game.

The HCT Winter Championship begins on February 28, and will be livestreamed on Twitch. The free card packs are slated to be delivered a week after the tournament ends.